


Movie Night

by Shatterpath



Series: Second and Fourth [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Platonic Cuddling, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Burn, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 21:31:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2244183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve understands all too well that Natasha is part of a matched set. Let the adorable team bonding commence!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> And now for our schmoopy interlude. Really, there will be more hot lovin' in this rambly tale… somewhere. Damn tease muses, I love them. Really.
> 
> And any patience I can beg, borrow or steal is always appreciated! *wink*

Night saw Natasha on the roof, soaking up the constant stiff breeze and the noise of the city far below. The day had been long and dull, her mind echoing the needs and satiation of her body. No matter her utterly screwed up past and everything she had done, something in Steve made her feel, if not right exactly, than less wrong than she had been before him.

Waiting for the right partner.

That's what he'd said, his voice low and touched with heat and shyness. If he meant what she thought he meant-- Natasha never took things at face value-- then that meant…

Oh how part of her, that warm little ember of soul, wanted that particular dance partner to be her. No matter how silly and frivolous a want it might be.

"Want a hot dog?"

She didn't quite jump, or throw a knife, but it was a close call.

"If that's a euphemism, I'm not in the mood."

Chuckling, Clint flopped down next to her, leaving a heaping bowl of picnic-type food within reach. Neither of them commented on the gurgle of hunger that echoed up from Natasha's guts, but merely ate in companionable quiet.

"So, I rescued something I'm going to swear was meant for you. Because if Tony had seen it, he'd never let you live it down and Thor would want to know where he could find such beasts."

Baffled, Natasha looked at her best friend and he smiled and removed a sheet of heavy paper from his shirt, in remarkably good condition for how it had been transported.

"It was taped to a dim corner of the common room high enough on the wall that I had to get a chair to grab it."

The helpless little scoff of a laugh that escaped Natasha was not feigned. On the page was a cartoonish drawing, rough with pencil and crisp with ink, of a silly little version of herself playing bucking bronco with a gigantic, hairy spider. Steve had included cowboy boots with a matching Stetson and even a saddle. A ridiculous-looking monkey on a tricycle wearing the familiar Captain America red, white and blue wielded a chair and snapped a bullwhip at the spider as it roared at him with lion's teeth. There was even a funny little brown hawk on a tightrope, wings wrapped around itself and laughing wildly.

"That's a really… sweet, dare I say, even personal gift."

There was no mistaking the note of a question in Clint's voice, nor did Natasha think for a moment that he missed the way she caressed the lines of pencil and ink on the page. "Well, in all fairness, I did play a hilariously mean practical joke on him."

It wasn't the words that struck Clint, but the soft way she said them, the little smile playing around her serious mouth.

"If…" Natasha spoke softly, hesitated then swallowed hard and made herself speak. "If I had… maybe… feelings," it took a desperate effort for Clint to keep a straight face at her tone, "would you think I was weird or something?"

Wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders, Clint gave his partner a sharp squeeze that she both allowed and squirmed at. "Nat, there are a hell of a lot of weird things about you and me and everyone else in this building. Why not add feelings to the equation. And you could hardly do better than Steve as he's both the nicest guy in the world, an utter terror and really, just as screwed up as the rest of us."

"So I'm not crazy then?"

"Of course you are. But who else could keep up with your crazy? I mean, besides me, of course."

While they finished off the bowl of goodies between them, Natasha blurted out the whole story. How Steve had jumped her in the showers-- that both impressed Clint and made him chuckle warmly-- the heated night she'd spent with him, the confession that he was waiting for the right partner.

"His respect and… fearlessness is sorta intoxicating."

"As is yours."

Both of them jumped, hard-wired reflexes setting them into deadly motion before the smarter parts of their brains registered friend. Steve stood some fifteen feet away, arms crossed and feet set apart.

"I wanted to give you time to finish your dinner before I snuck up on you." For a moment, he stood hard and foreboding before his harsh posture eased and a smile curled his mouth. "Or try to anyway."

Clint was starting to see it. The push and pull that these two had exhibited since they met through a trial by fire. How Steve had never been intimidated by how enigmatic and deadly Natasha was, but remained pragmatic and admiring. How Natasha's guard relaxed so quickly, once she knew it was him, her animal-like crouch easing into something almost shy. But Clint got a thrill of his own when that warm regard swept from his partner to him and the expression never changed. Fighting by this man's side had earned his trust and, coming from a war none of them could understand, he got the bond that Clint shared with Natasha. Love and healthy need came in a lot of different forms.

None of them were really sure how they ended up in a big hug, but Steve happily squeezed his teammates until both of them squeaked but made no move to squirm away. Physicality would never be an issue with any of them. Clint might have been a teeny bit embarrassed had he not seen how Natasha pressed her nose to his throat and Steve nuzzled her fiery hair in turn.

"Dunno if I'm up for the same sort of team bonding with you," Steve said warmly and rubbed his forehead over Clint's scalp, making the smaller man snort with humor. "But you can do this any time."

"Thanks, boss. I just might take you up on the offer."

A moment before the huddle became awkward, Steve loosened his grip and spoke again with a grin. "We're making s'mores if you're interested."

Clint squirmed away so his companions could sneak in a quick kiss and then they raced down the stairs like children and burst into the oversized common room. 

"My friends!" Thor greeted them warmly and Tony looked half suspicious and half leering. "Come join us in our feasting. I have become adept at these s'mores."

He handed over a whole plate of them, which Clint snatched away and Steve gave chase. Soon Jane and Bruce wandered it and the whole lot of them migrated over to the couches and television to watch a movie. As was starting to become the norm, Steve commandeered the long chaise part of the couch and Thor the oversized laz-e-boy beside it. Naturally, Jane curled up with the big guy and nibbled at the sweet treat while Steve was completely warmed and amused when Natasha imperiously draped herself all over him with the back of her head on his chest and Clint stretched out along the couch, his skull braced against their nestled hips. 

"I'm going to leave graham cracker crumbs in your hair."

Steve's tease made Natasha crane her head back for a moment and smirk naughtily. "I've had worse."

A dirty chuckle got Clint's ear flicked and Tony looked sharply at them even as Bruce nudged away the archer's boots so that he could settle in. Thankfully a weary Pepper and an even wearier Darcy chose that moment to appear and provided distraction. The latter whined that she had no one to cuddle until Thor laughed and yanked her down to curl up with Jane atop him.

"I am man enough for you both."

They all got a laugh at that one.

It had become a running joke that none of them could finish any of the Lord of the Rings movies, dropping off one by one into sleep. By the way Darcy was boneless and Jane handed off the younger woman's glasses to Steve to pass on to Clint to put on the coffee table, she wasn't going to be awake long. "S'ok. Seen 'em," Darcy slurred to a chorus of warm chuckles. "Go 'head without me."

"We have the Lady Darcy's blessing, carry on," Thor rumbled affectionately and his easy warmth with the woman he treated like a beloved little sister emboldened Steve. To test if his touch would be welcomed, he set a hand on each of the assassin's shoulders and didn't get his fingers broken or worse. Taking that as acceptance, he trailed a finger over shoulder and neck to pet each behind an ear.

Jarvis had brought them into the complicated tale onscreen as the Fellowship of the Ring raced through the underground kingdom and battled the Balrog, Gandalf falling into the abyss. Everyone but Darcy held out longer, following along the adventure and remaining mostly awake. Steve didn't even realize that he had moved his hands, stroking over scalp and neck until Clint muttered at him that he was a tease. Thankfully only Natasha heard him and made a small sound of enjoyment. Like a big cat, suddenly she sinuously rolled to the side and crept up the arm of the couch to vault over the back, all with barely disturbing her companions. To Steve's amusement, Clint took that as invitation to shift around and take up more of his lap.

"You snooze, you lose," he snarked at his partner when she returned after a few minutes to reverse her slinky creep back over couch and Steve, only once 'accidentally' kneeing Clint in the head. But she also didn't make either man move, snuggling down on her side between Steve's legs, wrapped around Clint's head. Yes, her shoulder blocked the edge of the screen, but Steve didn't mind at all. The show of trust and access to the back of her neck was well worth it. He stroked the base of her skull gently, warmed as her weight grew warmer and heavier. When Bruce fired him a grin as the first film wound down and the doctor slithered away from the loose sprawls of his teammates, Steve only silently returned it and mouthed a good-night. Out of curiosity, he rolled his head the other way to meet Thor's gentle smile and an understanding nod. The strange circumstances that brought him together with Jane couldn't be any less weird than whatever was going on with his pals. They shared a empathetic smile and returned to the movie and stroking their dozing companions.

As one movie ran into the next, Steve began to give into the warmth and weight grounding him in the here and now. It was a visceral sensation he relished and hoped the touch of his hands conveyed that to Natasha and Clint, neither who had stirred in some time. He was guessing they slept, but knew better than to assume. Nonetheless, he didn't fight the creeping tiredness that often eluded him, allowing the presence of his new family to watch over him as he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
